House of Fürstenberg (Westphalia)

He was a liegeman of the Archbishop of Cologne, who was among the prince electors of the Holy Roman Empire.

Hermannus held a castle for his lord called Fürstenberg ("Prince's Hill") at Ense-Höingen in Soest; this castle would give the family its name.

His son was Wilhelm von Vorstenberg, the Justiciar and Castellan of Werl.

Matriculation to the baronial class in the Kingdom of Bavaria occurred on 22 August 1891 for Friedrich Freiherr von Fürstenberg, Rittmeister à la suite in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt and Freeholder of Egenburg by Würzburg.

Some members of the family were elevated to comital dignities during German Mediatization for their services to the Kingdom of Prussia, or given honorific titles for their twentieth-century achievements: The family's ancestral seat is Schloss Herdringen near Arnsberg.

Original coat of arms of the family
The original coat of arms at right, with the 1660 baronial arms at left